Exeter Chiefs could be without Jack Nowell for the end-of-season run-in after the England man was ruled out for the remainder of the Six Nations with a sprained ankle.

The 24-year-old winger sustained the injury in England training earlier this week, and has since undergone a battery of tests and scans to assess its severity.

The results of those scans are yet to reveal how serious the injury is, with Chiefs skills coach Ricky Pellow reluctant to put any sort of return date on Nowell’s return.

“Jack has just gone over on one of his ankles, so it is a question of assessing the damage and going from there,” he told Echo Sport.

“It really is down to the physios and what they see and how long they think he will be out for. Once we are out of the Anglo-Welsh block and the Six Nations, we can plot what the best route is for Jack coming back.

“Our physios and England will look at where he is week-by-week and assess him from there. The England physios and our physios will work closely to try and get him back as soon as possible.”

The England management have already ruled Newlyn-born Nowell out of the remainder of the Six Nations, which concludes on Saturday, March 17.

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Should Exeter beat Newcastle Falcons this weekend, they will have an Anglo-Welsh Cup final at Kingsholm on Sunday, March 18, although Nowell would be highly unlikely to feature in that game even if fit.

Their next Premiership match is at Bath on Friday, March 23 – a game for which Rob Baxter would dearly like to have Nowell available.

Exe then have a week off before hosting Gloucester on Sunday, April 8.

“Jack is now back from the England camp,” continued Pellow. “I haven’t had an opportunity to speak to him yet, but I know something happened in one of their contact sessions.

“Once all the scans are back in then our physios can make a decision from there.”

Sam Simmonds and Luke Cowan-Dickie were both retained by England earlier in the week, with the latter as “precautionary cover” for England captain Dylan Hartley.

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Prop Harry Williams did report some muscle tightness, but is expected to feature against France on Saturday.

Tomas Francis is one of 10 changes Wales have made to their starting line-up ahead of Sunday’s clash against Italy in Cardiff. Francis is set to win his 30th cap in the clash as he replaces Samson Lee.